Tiny Soviet-era Fiat basks in a Cuban revival

Fiat Polski 126p, owners Raul Seoane, left, Ramses Fernandez, second left, Evilio Aguilar, center, Rigoberto Mesa, second right, and Pedro Fernandez, proudly pose with their cars in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, August 10, 2016. With around just 24 horsepower, depending on exactly how each one has been altered, the half-ton Polski offers families a shot at independent mobility for a few thousand dollars, a sum within reach of those able to save from private jobs or family sending money from overseas. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

HAVANA (AP) – Ramses Fernández's most cherished possession is barely larger than a refrigerator, with the legroom of an economy airplane seat and a little more horsepower than a riding lawnmower.

"That's my second baby," said Fernández, smiling proudly at the 39-year-old automobile purchased about the time his 10-month-old son was born. "My wife says that car is my child."

A humble two-cylinder Polish-made hatchback, the Fiat 126p was forgotten by most people after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Decades later, the car lovingly known as the Polski is basking in a Cuban revival.

Buses and taxis are in short supply as Cuba struggles with cutbacks in subsidized oil from Venezuela. The average salary is about $25 a month, but government-controlled car and gasoline prices are among the highest in the world.

With around just 24 horsepower, depending on exactly how each one has been altered, the half-ton Polski offers families a shot at independent mobility for a few thousand dollars, a sum within reach of those able to save from private jobs or family sending money from overseas.

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So the self-taught mechanics who've kept Cuba's famed American sedans running for decades are turning their talents to this automotive artifact from the Cold War, equipping Polskis with stronger suspensions, more powerful motors, even high-end sound systems and upholstery.

"2016 has been the year of the Fiat Polski 126p," said Hendy Coba, president of Friends of the Car, an officially sanctioned Havana car owners club.

An estimated 10,000 Polskis are registered in Cuba, according to aficionados. Although many are out of service, thousands of others buzz along Cuban roads, literally overshadowed by the 1950s American behemoths known as almendrones, and even by the rattling Ladas and Moskovitches imported from the Soviet Union.

Fernández, an auto mechanic, said he sold his motorcycle around the time of his son's birth and bought his Polski with the proceeds, about $5,000.

He's equipped it with disc brakes, new tires, an upgraded gearbox and a water-cooled engine nearly twice as powerful as the one it came with.

The normally air-cooled Polski is so prone to overheating in Cuba that many owners drive around with the rear hatch open in an attempt to suck hot air away from the engine. Fernández's closed hatch, and his car's relative nimbleness, makes him the object of constant admiring comments from other drivers at red lights.